USA: Cattle market review for week 6 of February 12, 2024

Some cattle traded for $179 a HEAD at the Iowa cash cattle market Thursday, up from last week's prices, one trader said .

The USDA reported Thursday morning that select block-packed beef cuts fell 88 cents to $294.10 per cwt., while Select cuts rose 48 cents to $285.90 per cwt.

EXPORT sales have also boosted the market, especially the cattle markets, said Dan Norcini, an independent cattle dealer. According to the USDA, U.S. beef exports totaled 20,600 metric tons during the same period, mostly to SOUTH KOREA and CHINA . “This is a solid beef export performance,” Norcini said.

Carl Setzer, a partner at Consus Ag Consulting, said in a research note Thursday that data shows the U.S. exported 252.3 million pounds of beef in December 2023, a four-month high.

WEEKLY COST OF CUTTINGS CAT.CHOICE

CATTLE SALES

Sale of livestock, heads

Average weight

Week 5

Week 6

Weekly growth,%

Week 5

Week 6

Weekly growth,%

Bulls (live weight)

6,276

678

-89.2%

1 475

1,527

3.5%

Heifers (live weight)

10,584

552

-94.8%

1 297

1 344

3.6%

Steers (slaughter weight)

8 680

938

Heifers (slaughter weight)

2 661

846

WEEKLY WEIGHTED AVERAGE PRICE OF CALLS

BEEF PRODUCTION

Index

Week 6

Previous week

A year ago

Weekly growth,%

Growth over the year, %

Slaughter volume

622,000

637,000

628,000

-2.4%

-1.0%

Live weight

1 388

1 397

1 379

-0.6%

0.7%

Slaughter weight

838

845

825

-0.8%

1.6%

Beef production (million pounds)

519.9

536.8

516.7

-3.1%

0.6%

CME: Live Cattle Futures

Week 5

Week 6

Weekly growth,%

February

180.55

184.63

2.3%

April

183.75

186.73

1.6%

June

181.78

183.98

1.2%

Feeder cattle futures

March

244.80

247.15

1.0%

April

250.20

251.78

0.6%

May

255.28

255.68

0.2%

You can learn more about the state of the cattle market in the usa ( livestock prices , the cost of beef by category, production dynamics) in the weekly reviews of the MEAT market in RUSSIA and around the world from Meatinfo.ru. Weekly reviews are available as part of a subscription.